On Oct. 13, Susquenita, brushing aside two years of frustrating losses thoroughly trashed Camp Hill’s homecoming festivities with dominating performances on both sides of the ball.

The Blackhawk offense gashed the Lions for 465 yards and five touchdowns on 53 plays, their defense limited Camp Hill to 46 yards total and Bart Miller’s squad improved to 6-1 with a 38-0 win.

“What can I say? They did it again,” said Miller, whose team has matched the win total of the 2002 Blackhawks with three games left to play. “We keep improving every week. We’re in uncharted territory right now.”

Susquenita, at 4-0, is tied with Trinity atop the MPC-Capital standings. The Blackhawks are also ranked sixth in the eight-team District 3-AA bracket.

The Blackhawk defense was bringing the wood from the opening whistle. Using a scheme designed to take away the Lions’ best weapon, wideout DeShawn Williams, Susquenita ramped up the pressure on quarterback Michael Shuster and the Lions’ running backs.

It was no contest.

Cornerback Evan Miller followed Williams wherever he went, with help over the top from safety Brett Morrison. Williams was never a factor.

After catching seven balls for 136 yards against Boiling Springs the week before, Williams was neutralized, making one reception — on a fake punt play — for 11 yards. On two Wildcat runs, he lost 10 yards.

“We wanted to make sure Williams didn’t beat us,” Miller said. “Evan did a great job keeping him in front.”

With Williams out of the picture, Blackhawk defensive coordinator loosed his front seven on Shuster and the Lions’ runners.

Jay Bennett was moved from his linebacker spot to the front line. He terrorized the Lions all night, collecting seven solo tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks.

In all, the Blackhawks registered seven tackles for losses on 18 rushing plays. Four more went for no gain and the Lions were held to minus 3 yards overall. Camp Hill had just five first downs, none in the second half. The Blackhawks recovered two of the Lions’ seven fumbles and interecpted two passes.

With the Lions’ offense in check, Miller’s offense took command.

Late in the first quarter, Morrison converted a third-and-1 with a 32-yard pass to A.J. Peck. One play later, Todd Mullen exploded up the middle for 25 yards, then banged in from the 6 to put the Blackhawks up 7-0.

Bennett’s sack stalled the Lions’ next possession, the Blackhawks took over at their 20 and reached midfield on six plays where they faced a third-and-8.

Morrison hit Miller with a swing pass in the left flat. Miller slipped a tackle on the edge and had a clear sail down the sideline to bump the lead to 14-0.

Two possesions later, Dakota Hansel sacked Shuster forcing the Lions to go for broke from their own 48. Shuster’s pass was picked by Morrison, who made an acrobatic catch and fell down at the Blackhawk 26.

With nine seconds to go until halftime, Miller considered taking a knee and running out the clock.

He changed his mind and called for a screen pass to Miller to the right side.

Good decision.

Miller caught the ball at the sideline, broke a tackle and worked his way through traffic before cutting back across the field. With seemingly every Lion getting a clean shot at him, Miller shrugged off a tackle at the 10 and spun away to complete a stunning 76-yard scoring trip that ended well after the horn sounded.

“We were getting the ball to start the second half. I thought we’d go to halftime then come out and put together one of our Blackhawk drives,” Miller explained. “But, who knows with Evan. He makes things happen.

“That was a big play.”

After the break, Miller got that Blackhawk drive.

Starting at his 28, Morrison engineered a nine-play scoring march that featured Mullen, who had runs of 21, 8, 10, 2 and 10 yards. Morrison also bootlegged for 9 yards early in the drive then ran over Williams at the 2-yard line to polish off a 6-yard scoring blast.

Susquenita added Clayton Alexander’s 29-yard field goal and Mullen’s 13th rushing touchdown of the season before Miller started mass substitutions.

Mullen finished the night with a career-high 161 yards on 25 carries on a night when the offense generated 228 yards on 45 punishing trips. Mullen bumped his season total to 776, also a career high. It was his fourth game with 100 yards or more.

“The offensive line is taking care of business,” Miller said. “It’s gelling. They have a great command of the game plan.”

So, too, does Morrison. The junior quarterback completed 6-of-8 passes for 177 yards, 7 yards off his career high, and the two TDs to Miller. It was his fourth 100-yard passing game of the season and sixth overall. He also picked up 29 yards on eight carries and avoided the big mistake.

Next up for Miller’s crew is a visit from Milton Hershey, a team that has had the Blackhawks’ number for years. The Spartans own a 12-2 edge in the all-time series, including seven wins in a row dating back to 1998 when the Blackhawks won 20-0.